Brickman Awesome at the Melbourne Museum Plaza

An Interview with Ryan McNaught ahead of Brickman Awesome at Melbourne Museum Plaza March 2018

Hey LEGO fans, this one's for you. Ryan 'The Brickman' McNaught, the only LEGO® Certified Professional in the Southern Hemisphere has put together a brand new LEGO exhibition, opening at the Melbourne Museum Plaza on 21 March, 2018.

Brickman Awesome marks Ryan’s third exhibition made entirely from LEGO bricks. It features 39 models - none of which have been seen in Melbourne before - and is made up of more than 2 million LEGO bricks, taking over 5,000 hours to build.

This awe-inspiring exhibition will also be the first chance for anyone in the world to see a brand new life-size car made entirely from LEGO bricks when it is unveiled for the first time ever at Brickman Awesome.

Ahead of this Brickman Awesome opening to the public, we have interviewed the man himself Ryan McNaught to find out more:

An Interview with Ryan 'The Brickman' McNaught - Image from the previous 'Wonders of the World' exhibition'

Q. What is the general theme behind Brickman Awesome?

This exhibition is very different to all our previous ones in that we have some huge record breaking models as well as some models where everyone that comes along gets to help break a record. We’ve also got models which people can get up close to and pose with, it’s pretty crazy!

We’ve also added in a whole heap of technology into our models, so some crazy lights and sounds are in some of the models!

Q. I understand the tallest LEGO model in the Southern Hemisphere will make up part of Brickman Awesome. What made you choose to build such an epic piece? Why a rocket?

The rocket in question is going to take man to mars! That in itself is such a huge thing and will be the biggest step ever for humanity to make, so I figure, why not make it part of our show too!

Q. Who comes up with the ideas behind each LEGO exhibition?

I do, and my ideas come from everywhere, sometimes reading a book, watching the news, all sorts of places.

Q. Do you ever require permission to build some of your creations, for example NASA for the rocket you constructed or the Harley Davidson Motor Group for your life-sized LEGO® Harley Davidson?

We sure do, whenever we work with someone else’s property, we work closely with them. Harley Davidson and NBC Universal for our giant DeLorean are great examples of working together to make something awesome!

Q. If you could choose any other career other than being a LEGO® Certified Professional, what would it be?

I’m not sure I want to be anything else, maybe an Olympic marathon runner.

Q. What do you do on your down-time / relaxation time?

I’ve run 5 marathons in the last year. I really love hitting the open road and pushing myself physically and mentally. Running that far is a real mental challenge, it requires you to ignore what your brain and body is telling you and push on through. Crossing the finish line is an amazing feeling.

Q. Because building with LEGO is your full-time job, do you sometimes dream about LEGO creations?

Ha! I’m actually really lucky in that I can switch off quite easily, so as a rule I tend not to think about LEGO when it’s not work time.

Q. Do you think your own kids will follow in your footsteps? Do they love LEGO too?

I don’t really force LEGO on my kids, they do like playing with it, like most 9 year old boys do, but all the LEGO we have at home is the kids’ LEGO, so that works out quite well.

Q. How interactive will Brickman Awesome be for kids this year and why is this important to you?

It’s so important, fancy going to a LEGO exhibition and not playing with LEGO! How much torture is that! So there is a lot for kids to do, from making penguins for the toddlers, making giant dump trucks - and everyone that comes along can add a part to Australia’s longest LEGO model that we’re building.

Q. Are there any other big surprises coming that we might not know about with Brickman Awesome yet?

Lots and lots! I’m not going to give away all my secrets, but lets just say where there is smoke there is fire!

Brickman Awesome will open in Melbourne on Wednesday 21st March at Melbourne Museum Plaza, just in time for the Easter school holidays.

See the only life-size LEGO Harley Davidson ever made and the largest ever LEGO Caterpillar 797 dump truck. Adding to the awesomeness is the tallest LEGO model in the Southern Hemisphere - a NASA SLS rocket standing at a whopping 7.5m tall and built from more than 450,000 bricks!